Umpires don't call infield fly and A's turn bizarre double play, a breakdown
What Happened
In a tight contest between the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers, the game takes an unexpected turn in the late innings. With the Athletics leading by one run, the game heads to the bullpen after the Athletics' starting pitcher, J.P. Sears, throws six no-hit innings. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Rangers have a runner on first base. Texas catcher Jonah Heim steps up to the plate, and the pitch from the Athletics' reliever hits him, putting two runners on base with no outs. The umpire signals the infield fly rule, indicating that if the ball is caught, the batter will be out regardless of whether the runners tag up. The next batter pops up a 2-2 pitch, and the ball falls to the ground between the pitcher's mound and the second base. The runners, Garcia and Heim, do not advance, thinking the ball will be caught. However, the umpire does not call the infield fly rule, and the Athletics turn a bizarre double play, getting the force outs at third and second base. , the host of , expresses his surprise at the umpire's decision, noting that the infield fly rule should have been in effect. He explains that the rule is designed to prevent the defense from intentionally dropping a pop-up to initiate a double play, as the runners are unable to advance until the ball is caught. analyzes the play, stating that the pitcher, J.P. Sears, and the second baseman, who had to slide to make the catch, did not have "ordinary effort" to make the play, which is the criteria for the infield fly rule to be in effect. He acknowledges that Rangers fans may disagree with the umpire's decision, but he believes the call was correct in this situation. highlights the complexities of the infield fly rule and the importance of understanding the nuances of baseball's rules and regulations. encourages viewers to check out his YouTube channel, JM Baseball, for more baseball-related content, including trivia and game shows.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentWe had one of the odder double plays of the season last night, A's versus Rangers.
The A's are up by one.
There's a runner on first.
The A's just went to their bullpen because their starting pitcher, J.P. Sears, had a
no-hitter through six.
Gave up his first hit.
Runner on first.
Let's go to the bullpen.
Let's not have this unravel on us.
This breakdown is brought to you by JM Baseball, the YouTube channel.
Anyway, here's what happens.
Well, first, I think they might have been stealing on this 2-1 pitch, but it hits the
batter.
If they were stealing, if Garcia was stealing, he would have went to third.
It would have been a runner on third with one out and a 3-1 count.
Instead, it's two runners on base, and all the force plays are still in order, and the
umpire gives a signal.
This signal, the double what-up, and that means infield fly situation, guys.
Be alert.
So, the next batter, we got a little breaking ball.
Strike one.
That one called a ball.
One and one.
Next one below the zone.
Two and one.
And then right in there again.
The 2-2 pitch is popped up shallow.
Is it going to be caught?
No, it's going to be dropped, but the runners didn't run because they thought it was going
to be caught, and now we have the easy force out at third and the easy force out at second,
and the A's escape all trouble because of that.
Fuck yeah, baby.
Woo.
Let's go.
Let's go.
And never a fucking doubt.
Oh, my goodness.
They didn't call infield fly?
Huh?
No.
Boo.
They did not.
So, if you're wondering, if you're new to baseball, you don't watch a lot, you're like,
what's going on?
That seems like a loophole.
The fielder can just drop it on purpose and get those outs because the runners can't run
until he catches it if it's caught.
Yeah.
There's a rule that stops that.
It's called the infield fly rule, and the rule says that with less than two runners,
two outs, with runners on first and second, the infield fly is in play, and if it's a
ball hit to an infielder, that takes ordinary effort, the batter is automatically out.
Now, you can see this umpire, he does start to call infield fly.
Watch this.
His hand is going upright here to signal infield fly, and then he sees the effort, judges that
it was not ordinary, and says, nah, never mind, never mind, never mind.
Safe.
So, was this ordinary effort?
The ball lands in between the pitcher and second baseman.
Pitchers don't make this play.
They don't run backwards down the hill and make the play with ordinary effort.
Should they?
Yes.
Do they?
No.
Ask any position player you know, and they'll tell you pitchers aren't athletes.
Anyway, the second baseman was playing pretty deep, and he's got to slide to leave his feet
to make the catch, so that's deemed not ordinary.
Usually, it's when the fielder is camped under it, and they have a couple seconds, and that's
when the umpire will say, he's camped under it, infield fly.
This ball was never hit high.
This ball was never hit high enough for him to be camped under it.
Should he have made the catch?
Yes.
Did he drop it on purpose to get the double play?
I don't think so.
If he did, that's a really smart move.
In my opinion, I kind of think they got this call right.
I don't think that was ordinary effort, but I understand that if you are a Rangers fan,
you're going to have the opposite opinion, because that's how being a fan and bias works,
but let me know what you got if you're not a Rangers fan and not an A's fan.
I want to know what you think.
And also, if you enjoy baseball and baseball trivia and baseball game shows,
and daily baseball coverage, JM Baseball, the YouTube channel,
recaps everything going on with baseball today,
and every day puts out a baseball trivia or baseball game show style game.
It's a lot of fun.
Go check it out.
JM Baseball, YouTube channel.